The Thorpe Award is presented annually to the nation’s top college football defensive back.

Darby, a senior from Long Beach, Calif., finished fifth on the team with 80 total tackles in 2012 and also registered 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

He also became the first player in the ASU football program to don the “PT42″ practice jersey in 2012. The jersey is a tribute to the memory of Pat Tillman, the former Sun Devil who was killed while serving in the United States Army in Afghanistan in 2004.

Seven other players from the Pac-12 are on the list: Dion Bailey of USC, Deone Bucannon of Washington State, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Terrance Mitchell of Oregon, Ed Reynolds and Jordan Richards of Stanford and Oregon State’s Rashaad Reynolds.

Johnthan Banks of Mississippi State was the 2012 recipient of the award, which will be presented during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show December 12, 2013 on ESPN.